mplied in the term “industrial support services” is a hierarchy: “industry” functions for its own sake, and “support” serves its needs. Industry depends on support to achieve its goals; support depends on industry for its purpose. To an Alaskan working at a desk or trudging through a blizzard in Deadhorse, where they stand in the hierarchy hardly makes a difference.

The distinction is real, though, in the three-sector model of economies. The primary sector encompasses oil and gas, mining, fishing, and agriculture—pulling raw resources out of nature. The secondary sector is manufacturing, including utilities and construction. Together, these are “industry” (which might be as small as a beachcomber crafting driftwood into a cribbage board).

The tertiary sector is services, which people encounter every day as retail, finance, hospitality, entertainment, education, healthcare, or personal care. A subset of services is business-to-business support: transportation, warehousing, legal counsel, consulting, communications, computing, and the like.

In this section, “Office Outsourcing” delves into third-party human resources management, especially for contingent workers hired by North Slope oil companies. “Online Plans Rooms” traces the evolution of a service that connects builders with construction jobs. Everyone appreciates a tidy workplace, especially healthcare providers, but experts have better uses for their skills than cleaning; thus, “Commercial Cleaning.” And “The Science of Support” explores support for researchers working in the Arctic (who are considered the fourth sector of the economy).

See other articles in this issue for more support services: the equipment management software cooked up in the “Coding Kitchen” by Flyntlok; computer security consulting in “Cybersecurity Demands Attention and Effort”; and management consulting in Brian Walch’s regular column, The Focused Manager.

Upon their shoulders, industry stands taller.